I have two super busy toddlers that constantly keep me on my toes. My kids are close in age, so when I was pregnant with #2 I started making some toddler activity bins to keep my oldest busy.
Ellie was only 17 months when I brought Annie home! But man, she’s been a busy kid since the day she was born!
We were constantly on the go to parks, museums, the library…you name it! I was so worried that when I brought the baby home in the middle of flu season, she’d be sick of staying indoors and would act out.
I was sort of right. But thankfully I had prepared with these amazing activity bins!
In fact, I’ll be adding to my activity bin collection soon now that we’ll be doing preschool at home this year.
I actually keep these busy bins in three separate places in my house! I keep three bins in my living room, several in our upstairs playroom, and the rest tucked away in a closet. The messiest ones are out of reach in the closet, and my kids know they have to ask for those. The others are there for their play whenever they want them!
Activity bins are a great idea because:
- They will keep your child focused on one thing at a time
- Bins help your toys/crafts organized
- Everything can fit easily into a small bin for easy storage and cleanup
- They help create learning through play experiences
- Every time you bring out a new bin, it’s new and exciting! It keeps old toys “fresh” when they aren’t available all the time
- It can provide an opportunity for quiet, independent play
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Here are 25 of our favorite toddler activity bins:
Felt Boards and Pieces
I scored some super cute felt boards and pieces in the dollar aisle of Target a few months ago! I bought one of every kind they had, which ended up being 5 different scenes, each with its own set of felt pieces.
Since that was a seasonal item, I found these cute ones from Amazon! You could also easily make these with supplies from a craft store if you’re a crafty person!
Crayons, stickers and paper
Easy peasy, right? You can change between coloring books and construction paper, swap out the stickers to mirror your child’s interests, and go between crayons, colored pencils or markers to keep your child’s interest.
Foam stickers
For some reason, foam stickers are WAY more fun than regular stickers! I buy mine at a craft store or on Amazon (they’re much cheaper on Amazon!). They usually require you to peel off the back to make them sticky, which is a great way for your toddler to practice some fine motor skills!
Finger Paints
This one gets stored on the highest shelf in my house! We always use the Crayola Washable Finger paints, though I’ve seen some crafty moms use food coloring to dye yogurt and make edible finger paints instead.
For the sake of convenience, the washable finger paints work best for us. In the summertime, I can roll out a big piece of paper and let my daughter go wild with the finger paints! A quick run through the sprinkler is all the cleanup we need.
Play Doh
I know every mom has mixed feelings on Play Doh…but I personally love it (most of the time). Now that my oldest knows not to eat it, she can sit and play independently with it at the table.
I usually get 30-45 minutes of independent play with Play Doh, which is great considering she’s only two and a half!
To keep it interesting, I switch the kind of Play Doh I give her (we have a variety of colors and glitter Play Dohs) as well as what I give her to play with it. Cookie cutters and plastic silverware are big favorites in our house!
Magnets
I bought these foam magnets from Amazon when I was making activity bins, and it’s one of my kids’ favorite activities.
They like to use them on the fridge, or on cookie sheets, muffin tins and cake pans. It’s always a fun experiment to try the magnets on different surfaces to see if they’ll stick!
Craft Pom Poms
Just some simple craft store pom-poms is all you need for pom pom sensory play! I usually give my daughter a few scoops, a muffin tin, a few plastic bowls, and a whisk. It’s so simple, but she absolutely loves it.
Music
We have two different music bins in our house!
One of the music bins has:
- Egg shakers
- Bells
- Tambourine
- Maracas
- Xylophone
- Triangle
*This kit from Amazon seems to have everything and more in one product!
While the other music bin has:
- A light up guitar
- Light up drums
- A mini piano
- Piano mat (my kids love this mat, but to be totally honest I find it very annoying!)
The girls pull this bin out several times per day. It’s FUN to make noise!
Beads
This is one of our most loved bins. My two and a half year old LOVES it!
I buy the medium sized beads from the craft store, some elastic or string, and she goes crazy making bracelets and necklaces.
These larger beads are great for beginners, or toddlers that need to practice fine motor skills.
My mom found this adorable bead kit for her, too, which is probably my favorite because it’s reusable!
She can make and take apart the necklaces as many times as she wants! There are so many different characters and sets to try, so we will definitely keep expanding on her collection.
Lacing toys
This is a great task for busy hands! We have a cute little lacing apple, but you can also use things you have around the house.
Cut some holes into cardboard and give your child a shoelace or string to weave through. Then you can unravel it and start over! Try making some fun patterns.
Magnetic Tiles
My kids LOVE building things up to knock them down. We got my daughter these magnetic tiles when she was about 18 months old, and she loves them to this day!
Bristle Blocks
Bristle blocks are the number one thing I recommend to parents with several kids of young ages.
My oldest uses them to build “castles,” and they are great for teething with my baby.
When my youngest was about 1 years old, she was coordinated enough to start putting them together herself! We did remove the small circle pieces because they pose a choking hazard to her, but there is still plenty to play and build with.
Dress Up
We loaded up a bin with some feather boas, party necklaces, fun sunglasses, hats, crowns…you name it! They love dressing up and having a dance party!
Puzzles
We have puzzles all over our house, but I keep a bin with some foam puzzles and a matching puzzle.
Plastic Easter Eggs
Seems so silly, but they LOVE playing with the plastic eggs. I give them a few small things to hide inside (usually craft pom poms or small figurines) and they try to guess which ones are stuffed and which are empty.
Mr and Mrs Potato Head
I never expected my 2.5 year old to love Mr and Mrs Potato Head so much, but it really holds her attention! I love that they’re inexpensive and super durable.
Not only does she love to change their face and body, she also will practice some pretend play with them.
Push through game
This is a super fun and open ended activity your toddler will love! Give them some pipe cleaners or popsicle sticks and something with slots. It could be holes punched into a box, egg carton, or even a food container (Pringles containers or Gerber Crunchy Snacks containers work well!)
Your toddler will love pushing things through the holes and watching them disappear!
Imagine Ink Pads
I talk about my love for Imagine Ink Pads in my post about no mess art activities, and it’s one of my favorite quiet time activities. These awesome pads have their own markers with “invisible ink.”
Why is that so great? There won’t be marker stains all over your child, carpet, walls, etc! It’s fun for my daughter to see what colors, shapes and characters appear when she uses the pad.
They come in several different characters, so there should be something your child loves!
Magic Painting Book
I went to an Usborne books party a few months ago, and we fell in love with Magic Painting!
Similar to Invisible Ink, this is a no mess art activity with little cleanup. When you dip the brush in water and move it across the page, the colors of the picture appear. There are many different books to choose from, but the underwater creatures one is our favorite.
Stencils with colored pencils
Stencils are great for kids that are a little older. In fact, my two and a half year old has a hard time with them, but I know she’ll be into them in a few months.
Stencils are a fun way to change up the regular coloring game. Plus, there’s something satisfying about filling in the stencil!
Sticker activity books
My kids go CRAZY for stickers! And I know they aren’t the only ones. We use this Melissa and Doug sticker book pretty regularly, but there are tons of different kinds of sticker activity books out there!
Aqua Doodle Mat
If you don’t have an Aqua Doodle Mat, YOU NEED ONE!
I’ve talked about it several times across my blog. It’s on my list for the best budget friendly gifts for toddlers!
We love them so much, we have two of them. I love to bring them out when I have friends with kids over, because it’s often something they’ve never used before, it makes virtually NO mess, and it’s so much fun!
You just fill the pens with water and color on the mat! It dries within a few minutes, so you have a blank sheet to work with again.
As a fun switch-up to the normal routine, I sometimes give my daughter an ice cube to color with. She loves that, too!
Oatmeal sensory bin
This is as dumb as it sounds, but it’s really engaging.
Some plain oatmeal, a bin, and a few different toys and my daughter is literally entertained for hours.
Currently, our oatmeal activity bin has:
- A few small figurines (she likes to bury them and dig them out)
- A spoon
- Some cupcake wrappers
- A cup
- A small bowl
I’m not exaggerating when I say she plays for hours. It makes a huge mess, but it’s worth it for some peace and quiet here and there!
We always play on the carpet so that I can quickly vacuum up the spilled oats when we’re done.
Gear Kit
We started out with this small gears toy when my oldest was about 18 months. Now my one year old loves to play with it!
This past Christmas I bought my daughter this larger gear kit, and she’s really enjoyed it. It’s fun to watch her problem solve and build the gears together so they can all rotate.
I’m sure as the months and years go on, she’ll find more fun ways to play!
Contact paper
Sticky paper is a favorite in our house!
I take some clear contact paper and attach it to the wall with painter’s tape. Then I give her some different things she can stick to it.
Some different things you can stick to the paper:
- Feathers
- Tissue paper
- Paper cut into shapes or letters
- Leaves
- Torn up napkins
- Pom Poms
- Yarn
- String
It’s easy to clean up, too! When you’re done, roll it up and throw it in the garbage.
What other activity bins does your child love? I’d love some new ideas in the comments below!
These activity bins have been a lifesaver for me! Whenever my kids get restless and bored, I pick out a bin and they’re easily engaged again.
It was also great when I was breastfeeding my baby to be able to pull out an activity for my oldest and be able to focus on just one thing.
I hope these gave you some good inspiration! Good luck, mamas!
I absolutely love your sensory bin / activity bin ideas 🙂 I have a feeling tho that my toddler would eat all of it if i made the oatmeal one 😀
She definitely eats it sometimes, but it’s oatmeal so it’s harmless! I stay away from raw beans and rice for that reason. Thanks, Linda! 🙂